Pressenda Giovanni Francesco, *6 January 1777 Lequio Berria (Piedmont), †12 December 1854 Turin, Italian luthier. Contrary to earlier assumptions, he did not learn his craft at L. Storioni’s workshop in Cremona. For many years, he worked as a farm labourer, and it was not until around 1815 that he began his apprenticeship in Turin at the workshop of French luthier Nicolas Lété-Pillement. After Lété-Pillement’s death in 1819, he opened his own workshop there and began a thriving business, gaining a reputation thanks to the support of the local music community. His career can be divided into three periods: before 1825, 1825–1829 and after 1831. Initially, he was strongly influenced by A. Stradivari’s models, preferring a flat and wide model with long, sharply bent corners, elongated sound holes (F-holes) and a back plate made of a single piece of wood (maple). In the second half of the 1820s, he developed his own individual style with a model featuring a highly arched top plate and short corners, possibly under the influence of his student at the time, G. Rocca. In his later years, he returned to the flat model. He used an excellent orange-brown or dark red varnish, which he applied thickly to a lightly primed surface. He also built violas, relatively small in size, and cellos. On his luthier’s notes, he used the Latinised form of his name (Joannes Franciscus Pressenda). He was the founder of the Turin school of violin making and won medals at international exhibitions (silver medals in 1838, 1844 and 1850).
Over 200 of his violins have been preserved, as well as several violas and cellos. His violins, with their meticulously refined details, are distinguished by their exceptional sound qualities, with a loud and clear tone; they were highly valued and sought after, which led to the creation of numerous counterfeits. He is considered the best Italian luthier of the 19th century, comparable in importance to A. Stradivari. During his career, he had many collaborators and students, including Giuseppe Rocca (from the end of 1834), Joseph Calot (1821–1830) and Pierre Pachérel, whose presence was particularly important at the end of his life. He had a huge influence on Italian violin making until the beginning of the 20th century and had many imitators (including A. Fagnola).
Literature: U. Azzolina Liuteria italiana dell’ottocento e del Novecento, Milan 1964; W. Hamma Meister italienischer Geigenbaukunst, Stuttgart 1965; Alte Meistergeigen, ed. H.K. Herzog, vol. 7, Frankfurt am Main 1981; Liutai piemontesi fra XIX e XX secolo da Pressenda a Fagnola, ed. E. Blot, Cremona 1997; G. Accornero Liutai Piemontesi fra XIX e XX Secolo: da Pressenda a Fagnola, Torino 1997; Ph.J. Kass The Pressenda Family, “Journal of the Violin Society of America” XV/1, 1997; J. Thöne Italian & French violin makers, vol. 2, Teramo 2004; E. Blot Liuteria Italiana, vol. 4: 1800-1950. 150 Years of Violin Making in Piedmont, Cremona 2001; Ph.J. Kass Violin making in Turin: 1800-1870, “Journal of the Violin Society of America” XVII/3, 2001; Ph.J. Kass Violin Making in Turin, “The Cozio Carteggio”, https://tarisio.com/cozio-archive/cozio-carteggio/violin-making-in-turin-part-1-1650-1770; T. Miyasaka J. F. Pressenda – Italian passion hidden behind consistency of form, https://www.cc.toin.ac.jp/sc/miyasaka/en/violin/pdf/Strad%20article_Pressenda_%20Homepage%20release%2020190326_Miyasaka.pdf; T. Miyasaka Pressenda: Combined impact, “The Strad” CXXXI, 2020; Ph.J. Kass Parlez-vous Italien? Violin Making in Turin Drew on Both French and Italian Traditions, “Strings Magazine” 2025 No. 325.
